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The Boston Bruins are reeling after starting the 2024-25 season 8-9-1 — and it cost Jim Montgomery his job. The same head coach that led the Bruins to one of the best campaigns in NHL history just two years ago is now no longer making the decisions behind the bench.
And Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube wasn't too happy seeing his former colleague get let go.
“Asked for his reaction to seeing his former assistant Jim Montgomery fired in Boston, Craig Berube said it was ‘upsetting,'” reported The Athletic's Chris Johnston on Wednesday.
“I feel for coaches,” Berube told LeBrun. “It's a tough business.”
Montgomery was replaced by Joe Sacco on an interim basis after spending two-plus seasons in Massachusetts. He amassed a 120-41-23 record with the B's after being hired as the 29th coach in franchise history in June of 2022.
It's been an abysmal season for Boston; the team has lost four of five games, including a brutal 5-1 home defeat to the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden on Monday night. The squad also boasts a minus-21 goal differential, good for second-worst in the National Hockey League.
It was becoming pretty clear that something needed to change in Boston, and there were rumors that general manager Don Sweeney could make a change before the news broke. Montgomery is the first NHL coach to be fired this season, and it came two years after he won the Jack Adams Award as the league's top coach. His career record stands at 180-84-33 through 297 games.
The question now becomes: will a new coach lead to success in Beantown?
Will a new coach fix Boston's problems?
Despite signing two big-ticket free agents in Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov this summer, the Bruins are off to one of their worst starts in recent memory.
This team hasn't failed to advance to the postseason since 2016, but they're currently on the outside looking in at one of the two wildcard berths in the Eastern Conference. That's not good enough for the front office, who have now installed Sacco behind the bench.
“Today, I made a very difficult decision with regards to a coaching change,” Sweeney said on Tuesday, per NHL.com's Amalie Benjamin. “Jim Montgomery is a very good NHL coach and an even better person. He has made a positive impact throughout the Bruins organization, and I am both grateful and appreciative of the opportunity to work with him and learn from him.
“Jim’s accomplishments as the Bruins head coach include a record-breaking and historic season, and I want to thank his entire family and wish him, Emily, JP, Colin, Ava and Olivia all the success and happiness with their next opportunity.”
Although the Bruins have had a ton of regular-season success, they've been unable to get over the hump in the playoffs. Boston was eliminated in back-to-back years by the Florida Panthers, in a stunning first round upset in 2023 and again in six games in Round 2 in 2024.
It'll be interesting to see if Montgomery's departure will help light a spark under the team. But there are deeper issues with this version of the Bruins, and a new coach might not be enough to plug the holes in 2024-25.
